Birth
by bubblegum14u
Summary: Forty years later, Danny Torrance is finally starting to get over the events of his childhood. But after a horrific event all his memories start to resurface. Will Danny be able to handle it? Oneshot


**Authors Note:** Hello all! This is something that I had to write for my English class. Basically it's a kind of epilogue after all the events at The Overlook happen, forty years later from Danny's perspective. I'm open to any type of criticism so don't be afraid to review! Thanks for reading! :D

_Forty__ Years Later…_

Danny Torrance woke up with a gasp. Even forty years later he still had nightmares. Thoughts of blood soaked walls and disfigured faces plagued him night after night. Danny sat up quickly and felt around for where he was, _home_. It was a strange word that felt dry on his tongue. Never had he imagined of calling another place home, at least not since he was five. Because Danny Torrance had been a broken boy, now grown into a broken man, and although he had never been able to set foot in a bath tub again he was starting to put the pieces back together.

The crackling of the intercom on his bed side table made his hand twitch. It buzzed in rhythm every few seconds and usually ended up giving him a migraine that he couldn't shake. Before the baby everything had been getting back to normal. At the age of eighty Wendy was in a nursing home, which put his mind at ease. Then he met Jenny and his world was spinning. Spinning in a good way, the nightmares had left and all thoughts of the Overlook and his Father had all but disappeared. Months of pure joy passed and all Danny and Jenny ever felt was happiness. A year, then two, then a baby and… Danny hadn't seen it coming. December 2nd, 12:02 in the morning Jenny gave birth. He was excited to be a Father, but insanely scared too. The prospect that he could end up like his dad had convinced him never to start a family. That it was better to keep his past locked up inside himself so it couldn't hurt anybody anymore.

All Danny could remember were Jenny screams, _but that's normal_, he thought, _it's supposed to hurt_. A rush of doctors flew by him with carts and paddles and Danny was too distracted hear the constant beep or see the straight line of Jenny's heart. He couldn't breathe. He had no idea what was going on. Danny slumped against the wall and pinned himself behind a chair for support.

"Mr. Torrance, are you okay?" His first thought was that he hated being called Mr. Torrance. Mr. Torrance was his father, Jack and he was dead and gone. "Would you like a glass of water, sir?" Danny managed to give the nurse a look even in his breathless, confused state. How could a cup of water possibly help him in this situation? Danny looked over at Jenny finally,

"Charging to 300" One Doctor said rubbing two paddles together. What was going on? Why were they using those paddles on Jenny? She was fine, her eyes were open they only used those paddles if you're heart stopped, if you were dying.

Danny's eyes widened and he felt like a little kid again, not knowing what was going on around him. He saw the women bleeding in the bath tub again, the blood dripping from the walls, the broken clock stuck on midnight, the dog man, his Father coming at him with a mallet. He imagined his baby, his own child dressed up in a dog suit. Ferocious teeth, dripping with a mixture of blood and saliva snapping his jaws and gnashing his teeth and barking these horrible, horrible noises at him. Danny let out a small shriek and slowly looked over at his child. Two nurses were standing over him, looking at him with concern. Danny pulled himself up and walked awkwardly towards his child. Something was off and Danny felt Tony scratching in the back of his mind telling him, pleading him not to look. But Danny had to; this was his child, his kin. He was going to love this child no matter what, he was going to be everything his father hadn't been and everything Jack had wanted to be.

What Danny didn't realize was how big his eyes could grow and how wide his mouth could stretch and how loud he could scream. Because when he saw his child with a veil of skin over his face his stomach dropped, his heart sank and he experienced all those other horrible feelings that come along with a tragedy at the same exact time. He wanted to weep or burry his face in a pillow and scream until his voice gave out. He hadn't felt this way since the Overlook, since his Father was chasing him down the carpeted hallways with a mallet. For the burden that had caused him so much pain for so long was now his son's burden.

The nurses and doctors spoke some soft words to him about his son but he didn't hear much. It wasn't until Dr. Richard Herondale, Jenny's OBGYN pulled him aside that he was forced to listen.

"Mr. Torrance? I'm afraid that-"

"Danny."

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Danny, not Mr. Torrance." Danny was hardly paying attention. All he could think about was catching another glimpse of his son. He wanted more than anything not to believe what he saw. All he wanted now was a normal life, free of possessed objects, ghosts and anything that shinned.

"Mr. Torrance! I mean Danny, Dan, Dan I'm afraid we have some bad news as you may have observed in your wife's hospital room." Dr. Herondale told him with a stern voice and an almost sympathetic look. Was he talking about the shining? Did he know what the veil of skin over his son's face meant? No! Of course not! How could he? Danny felt the start of chills down his back. Dr. Herondale took a deep steadying breath,

"Dan, on behalf of me and the rest of Mercy East Hospital we are sorry to inform you that your wife has… died, has passed away in child birth."

Danny didn't get it at first. He was still thinking about the shinning and his son and had started thinking about how much he could use a cup of coffee when it hit him. He didn't know what to say. He had no audible reaction that Dr. Herondale or any of the other staff could see, but inside his head pages were flying, Tony was screaming, clawing at the back of his throat. How could he have missed it? Danny had been in the room the whole time. But he had been so overwhelmed with it all… but that was no excuse! He couldn't accept the fact that he hadn't been paying attention to Jenny. This had been her moment. One of the moments that changed her life forever.

As most do, Danny sat open mouthed with red, withered eyes. He had nothing to say back to the Doctor. What was he supposed to say anyway? _Thanks for doing all you could, Sir. I'm sure you tried your best._

Danny couldn't bear it anymore. He jumped out of his seat and reeled down the hallway. All he wanted to do was get out. The corridors of the hospital were starting to feel too much like the hallways of the Overlook and he caught himself looking over his shoulder every couple of seconds. _Out, out, out_, he thought and pushed passed the doors of the maternity wing. But just as he pushed through he caught a glimpse, just the slightest glimpse of his child. Danny found himself moving even faster now because what scared him the most was the shape of his child's face and the curves of his mouth and the color of his eyes and the shade of his hair, because he looked exactly like Jack.


End file.
